Re: Consumer Finance Companies

‎05-23-200705:12 AM

The FICO formula does not distinguish between prime/subprime per se. The way it identifies a 'consumer finance' account is through the bureau subscription code -- the lender's ID# at the bureau -- that, among other things, indicates what kind of business it is. (This is also how mortgage and auto inquiries are distinguished from other inquiry types.) I believe the reason why the suggestion above won't work is because the portion of these codes that provide this identification are industrywide and not unique to a particular lender, although a lender typically has multiple subscriber codes for different parts of the business. So, for example, while the score can tell if the lender is considered a consumer finance company, it can't identify a particular product of that lender's as prime/subprime.